Padric Scott is getting encouragement from Toronto Argonauts assistant coach Jim Daley almost every day. His teammates are telling him how impressed they are with him, too.

It all sounds familiar to Scott, a former standout nose tackle at Lincoln High School, who is having his second go at a pro football career — this time in the Canadian Football League. Last year after graduating from FAMU, the lineman signed a free-agent contract with Arizona in the NFL.

Scott didn’t make the cut. Ten months after returning home, he signed with the Argonauts and is currently in their rookie camp.

But while he was brimming with confidence during a Friday evening telephone interview, Scott isn’t allowing himself to get too excited about the positive feedback.

“I don’t buy into that because I was doing well in Arizona every day too,” Scott said. “To me, I just want to go out and enjoy football every day. You never know when it could be your last play.

“It’s a numbers game pretty much. I did well in the minicamp and OTAs (organized team activities in Arizona). At the end of the day, this game is a busines. So even if you do well, you can still be released. You’ve got to be perfect.”

Scott’s challenging quest to make it in professional football is taking a similar shape to his collegiate career. Coming out of Lincoln, he took a scholarship to play at Stanford University. That lasted one season before he returned home to play at FAMU.

A devout Christian who on occasion preached at Mount Zion AME Church, Scott is convinced he is in Toronto because of a higher power.

After Arizona, Scott, 24, took a job as an assistant manager at a local bank. His workdays were followed by long hours of training into the nights. It was during one of those workouts that his agent informed him that the Argonauts were holding a tryout in Lakeland.

He got an offer on the second day of workouts.

“It’s a journey,” Scott said. “I thank God for it. Every step has made me a better person. People can count on me because I’ve been through whatever you can imagine. From each situation, I’ve learned so much.”

As one of five tackles in the Argonauts’ camp, Scott is trying to become one of 19 Americans who will make the roster.

“There is a lot of talent out here,” he said. “There are a lot of people out here looking to continue their dream. The competition is very stiff.

“I feel that at the end of rookie camp I will be on the roster. That’s what I’m working towards right now.”